As Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community, I welcome you all of most wholeheartedly and thank the Government of Italy, the FAO and the Pacific Forum Secretariat for co-sponsoring with us this very important partnership activity.

Your presence here at this hour must signal your concurrence on the vital importance of this event.

Why do I say it is a very important activity?

On Monday last, the Director-General of the FAO informed the International Meeting to Review the Barbados Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of SIDS that SIDS today derive 15% of their GDP from the agriculture sector and that that sector accounts for 31% of employment.

Moreover, 15 years ago, SIDS were self-reliant in food; Today they face a food insecurity problem as export oriented agriculture takes dominance, leaving more than half of SIDS either as net food importers or low income food deficit countries, generally importing more than half of the calories they consume. A call went out from him for investment in infrastructure, technology and institutions to correct this situation. His paper setting out how the FAO is trying to help SIDS generally,  and Caribbean SIDS in particular, is one to which we must pay special attention.

Up to the mid-1980s, the CARICOM countries as a group were net food exporters. The Region is now a significant net food importer and this situation could become much worse in a very short time, as our main export crops lose market and value as a result of liberalisation especially within the European Union.

With that threat to our food security and with the experience of the aftermath of September 11, 2001, when some of our Member States actually came close to a food crisis, the FAO and the Secretariats of CARIFORUM and CARICOM have collaborated and develop a US$26 Million Food Security Project. This project was launched in Washington in December 2002 with the collaboration of the Inter-American Development Bank with the President himself and a search for partnership participation.

The Government of Italy responded immediately and positively and by March 2003 approved and signed a US$5 Million component, which entered into implementation by October 2003. With this quality of response you would understand then, my particular pleasure in having the Government of Italy as a partner in this project. The project will be described in greater detail by Dr. Deep Ford of the FAO.

Importantly all this fits within our own initiatives in CARICOM to formulate a comprehensive policy on agriculture - The Regional Transformation Programme in Agriculture - which has been developed in keeping with the provisions of Part Two of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas establishing the Caribbean Community including the CARICOM Single Market and Economy. This was done under the guidance of His Excellency the President of Guyana, who is the Lead Head of Government with responsibility for Agriculture within the CARICOM Quasi-Cabinet.

We in CARICOM recognize that many of the challenges we face in the area of agriculture, food production and food security, are shared by our brothers and sisters in the Pacific. We are pleased at the forging of an important partnership with the Pacific in this regard.

All these efforts, we must never forget, are vital to reducing the vulnerability of our small island states in the critical area of food security and preserving the wellbeing of our people. There is no objective and endeavour of greater importance.

On behalf of CARICOM, I welcome you again and look forward to a fruitful meeting.